Lidstrom was held out of Tuesday’s 5-2 win over Columbus after taking a puck off the foot during Saturday’s loss to Colorado. The Detroit captain hasn’t practiced since and seems in real danger of missing his second straight game, a rarity for one of the most durable players in league history — Lidstrom has missed only 36 out of a possible 1,848 games, regular season and playoffs, during his 20-year career.

“We sent him back for tests,” Babcock explained. “He’s still sore. We adjusted his skate so he could skate, and we’ll see what happens.”

Getting Lidstrom back would be huge for Detroit’s battered blueline. Kyle Quincey (groin) was also held out of the Columbus game — though he says he feels fine and ready to play Friday — while fellow defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will be out for another 4-5 weeks with a fractured wrist. The Red Wings are classifying it as a “chipped bone” and have cleared Ericsson to resume skating tomorrow.